4:30 1-5-2011 Walking to my car along the riverbank

Each winter afternoon as dusk begins,

The crows come, calling

Calling, wheeling from downtown, flowing
Through the air in clusters,
In clans,  lone stragglers,
Going somewhere
I cannot follow

Some settle on trees
Along the riverbank, for a time,
Calling, calling --
Their profiles like furled
Black leaves

Then rise as one, calling,
And wheel away out of sight

Now a lone crow flies up
Silent, from the hill
Straight for the gathering grounds
Knowing the way

Click to enlarge -- the mass of birds are in the distance